A compact linebacker who finally may have an impact on the Cal defense after two seasons on the sidelines...enjoyed an outstanding spring and has a solid shot at cracking the starting line-up...has great instincts, making quick reads and accelerating to the football...coaches like his intelligence and his field savvy...had surgery for an inglunal hernia late last season, but is fully recovered...a devoted weight-lifter who has a best in the squat of 505 pounds...also cleans 395 pounds, which is a dramatic number for a person weighing only 225 pounds...although he is listed as a senior, he plans to appeal to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility in 2001, due to several medical problems during his college career...

1999...was expected to be in Cal's playing rotation, but had a hernia problem that kept him in rehabilitation most of the season before a decision was made to surgically repair the injury...

1998...came to Cal as a transfer from Vanderbilt and redshirted the season under NCAA transfer rules...

1996-97...spent two seasons at Vanderbilt, redshirting in 1996 and playing primarily on special teams in 1997...was a reserve linebacker on Vanderbilt's highly regarded defense that finished ranked No. 1 in the SEC in total defense in '97...finished the '97 season with three tackles, including one unassisted stop.

High School/Personal: Was a standout player at Curtis HS in New Orleans, one of the top prep programs in the nation... earned all-state honors for two seasons in both football and track and field...football team had won 32 straight district crowns and 14 state titles overall at the end of his senior year in 1995...was a nationally ranked Olympic weight lifter in high school with a 370-pound clean and jerk as a junior...received offers from such schools as Ohio State, Colorado, Syracuse, South Carolina and Texas A&M out of high school...was also recruited by Cal defensive coordinator Lyle Setencich when he was at Arizona State...played in the Louisiana state all-star game and was the defensive MVP of the game with 12 tackles...majoring in drama at Cal...played one of the leads in the main campus spring play for Cal Theatre Arts...parents are Rick and Gail Smith...born Sept. 15, 1976 in Baton Rouge, LA.